While working in the lawn or garden, it is convenient to have a container for holding vegetables, weeds, twigs, dirt, etc. It would be even more convenient to have a container with a detachable wall to serve as a scoop for transporting materials. For example, when a hole is dug for planting a bush, the dirt removed from the ground could be placed in a container. After the bush is placed into the ground a wall from the container could be removed and the dirt poured through the opening in the container into the hole and around the bush for planting the bush into the ground.
A review of the prior art does not suggest a garden scoop with a detachably mounted gate as described in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,538 discloses a shovel for removing ashes from a pit that has a scoop portion and a hinged lid thereon. The scoop portion has a bottom wall with an upturned loop, side and rear walls and an open front. The lid portion has a downwardly depending extension for overlying the open front of the scoop when the lid is in its closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,419 discloses a fireplace ash cleaning shovel comprising a flat rectangular bottom, an upstanding back wall, opposite side walls having a sloping front opposite the back walls, and a front gate and affixed handle mounted on the back wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,912 discloses a garden tray having means by which it could be supported from the ground at an angle for easily scraping material onto the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,544,014 discloses a dust pan having an open side with its lower edge defining a scraping edge and a hinged cover normally closing the open side of the dust pan. U.S. Pat. No. 926,927 discloses a dust pan having a spring steel lip extending downwardly to engage the floor from an elevated portion formed at the mouth of the dustpan. The spring steel lip normally bearing against the floor so as to scrape up any material to be gathered and easily swept into the body of the pan.
U.S. Pat. No. 784,562 discloses a grain scoop having handles mounted on the side walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 502,296 discloses a dust pan with a folding handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 346,313 discloses a grain scoop having a handle pivotably attached to the side walls and guided by arc brackets.
U.S. Pat. No. 285,877 discloses another form of a dust pan in combination with a handle for adapting the position of the dust pan for receiving material swept into it.
U.S. Pat. No. D50,123 discloses a dust pan having a handle at its back end with a carrying loop extending from side to side of the pan, the rear end of the pan being somewhat enclosed so that the material swept or scraped up into the pan could be held in the enclosed part of the pan at its rearward end.
The present invention is directed to a garden scoop having a flat rectangular bottom, and upstanding back wall, opposite side walls having a sloping front opposite the back wall and a front gate between the side walls and adjacent to the bottom detachably mounted and a handle mounted on the side walls adapted for carrying the scoop.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel scoop that is designed particularly for use out-of-doors when working on a lawn or in a garden and which serves for picking up or transporting trash, clippings, leaves, twigs, firewood, pulled-out weeds, or vegetables.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a garden scoop with a detachable gate, which when removed, provides for the easing of the loading of material into the scoop and for dumping of the material from the scoop.
Other objects are to provide a garden scoop which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to use and efficient in operation.